Year: 2018

SXSW Day Three: The Vevo & Australia Houses Launch, Ready Player One premieres, Elon Musk answers questions, Tumblr Parties and more

It’s Day Three of SXSW, and from the launch of the first music venues that will run through the week, to a talk from a leader of innovation, and the world premiere of a Hollywood Blockbuster, it was the most jam-packed 24 hours yet at the festival, snaking through Austin, Texas with irrepressible energy. Vevo…

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Exclusive Single Premiere: Neon Tetra “The End Begins Again” (2018)

Neon Tetra have been nailing it so far this year. Adelaide fans last saw the group on stage at the Clipsal 500, supporting Robbie Williams in front of a huge audience – talk about a way to get dropped in the deep end. We had no fear though, the band utilised some excellent groove and soul in…

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Music Video of the Day: ARY “If You Never Try You Never Know” (2018)

Alternative Portuguese band ARY have explored their dark-side in their latest video “If You Never Try You Never Know” off their upcoming debut album Drowning Inside, in a three and a half minute long video filled with intensity and disparity. Confident that they have found their musical identity in the past year, ARY delves into the dark side…

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Interview: Jade Bird on SXSW, playing with Willie Nelson, Something American and her first visit to Australia

When in Australia recently for a very well received promo trip, British songwriter Jade Bird stopped by AU HQ in Sydney to have a chat with us about her debut trip Down Under. “Live is my thing,” she says of her upcoming shows through the UK. “I can have my banter and I can also have…

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Tech Review: Razer Seiren Elite USB Digital Microphone: Great sound comes at a price

Is there anything Razer can’t do? Any demographic of gamer for whom they can’t accommodate? One of the peripheral giant’s latest pushes has been into the still-rapidly growing broadcaster market. People looking to get started on  Twitch are always in search of the right gear and Razer are ready with an array of toys purpose-built…

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SXSW Film Review: Brothers’ Nest (Australia, 2018) is dark, twisted and completely unpredictable

If you thought the family in Animal Kingdom had problems, wait until you meet Australia’s newest dysfunctional family. In the new film from Director Clayton Jacobson, starring both himself and his brother Shane Jacobson, we spend some time getting to know the real life brothers as they play fictional brothers Jeff and Terry – reuniting…

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Sampa the Great wins 2018 Australian Music Prize

Hip hop artist Sampa the Great has won the Australian Music Prize for 2018 for her debut album Birds and the BEE9, making her the thirteenth annual winner of this prize. The Zambian-born Sydney based rapper has beaten out 8 other competitors to take home the prize, securing a place among some of Australia’s best talent as…

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Why Elon Musk really wants to go to Mars, and nine other things we learned at his SXSW Q&A

Announced last night, not long after his surprise appearance at the Westworld panel, the hero of the tech world, the man responsible for Tesla and SpaceX and his own voice on South Park (a rare claim to fame if there ever was one), Elon Musk packed the ACL Moody Theatre at SXSW today for a…

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SXSW First impressions: Blockers (USA, 2018) is a surprisingly smart, often hilarious teen sex comedy that flips gender stereotypes

When Blockers was first announced, I met the concept with sceptism: three teenage girls (including Australia’s own Geraldine Viswanathan) agree to a “sex pact” for their Prom night. Friends since the first day of school, they’re all going to attempt to lose their virginity on the same night. However, their parents (John Cena, Leslie Mann…

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The world premiere of Blockers headlines SXSW Day Two, plus pop ups for The Terror, Westworld and more!

It’s day two of SXSW in Austin, Texas – and with the Westworld Pop-Up event taking place just outside of town and getting everyone talking, here’s a look at a few of the other highlights from the day (since, sadly, we weren’t able to get tickets to Westworld ourselves; tickets went out the door in…

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SXSW Interview: Stars Blake Jenner, Jared Abrahamson & Director Bart Layton talk American Animals

At its SXSW premiere last night, we caught up with stars Blake Jenner and Jared Abrahamson, as well as Director Bart Layton to chat about their acclaimed new film American Animals. Read our review of the film HERE. The film is released in the US on 1st June 2018. ———- This content has recently been ported from…

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Aussies Abroad: Our Golden Friend announce showcases in NYC and at SXSW

Our Golden Friend have emerged as one of Melbourne’s premiere artist management companies and with SXSW off an running, the music festival has provided the perfect platform for the company to show off their talented roster. Bringing Jade Imagine, RVG, Totally Mild and Jess Ribeiro to Texas, Our Golden Friend will be hosting a must-attend party at the Australia…

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The Roots announce super jam session with Ludacris, Rapsody and more at Bud Light’s SXSW party

There are very few names in music that define the very concept of collaboration more than The Legendary Roots Crew (AKA The Roots), so when you’re an enormous brand celebrating “music, friendship, and collaboration” at SXSW you’d be remiss not to call upon the iconic band to lead the party. That’s what Bud Light are…

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Young Fathers, Ready Player One and more make a splash on the first night of SXSW 2018

And SXSW is off once again! The annual Austin, Texas festival kicked off its Interactive and Film streams tonight with a series of film screenings and special events all over the city. The New York Times Magazine took over Irene’s with one of the night’s biggest parties, steadily building up anticipation as a lively queue…

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Ready Player One to hold surprise world premiere tomorrow night at SXSW

As has become tradition at SXSW,  a major Hollywood film has announced a last minute premiere at the Austin, Texas festival. As many predicted (including ourselves), due to its large, unexpected presence at the festival, this year that film is Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One. Based on the global bestseller by Ernest Cline, the film…

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SXSW Interview: Armie Hammer reflects on working with Geoffrey Rush and Stanley Tucci for Final Portrait

Fresh from shooting hot dog cannons at the Academy Awards (yes, that actually happened), we caught up with actor Armie Hammer at SXSW to talk about his work in the acclaimed film Final Portrait (which we gave four stars right here). We talk about the voyeuristic experience the movie employs, particularly in the scenes between Hammer…

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SXSW Film Review: American Animals (USA, 2018) is a masterful, original take on the heist & true crime genres

American Animals is the scripted film debut from writer/director Bart Layton, who walked away with a BAFTA for his debut effort, the documentary The Imposter. Knowing he comes from a documentary background is unsurprising when you see this film, which screened at Sundance earlier this year to a good deal of critical acclaim, and continued…

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SXSW Interview: Antifa leader Daryle Lamont Jenkins talks about Alt-Right: Age of Rage

To further explore Alt-Right: Age of Rage, a new documentary by Adam Bhala Lough receiving its world premiere at this year’s SXSW, we chat to Daryle Lamont Jenkins. Jenkins, one of the most prominent and recoginsable figures of the antifa (or “anti-fascist”) movement in America has a lot to say about the increasingly salient clash…

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SXSW Film Review: Alt-Right: Age of Rage (USA, 2018) is a brutal documentary about a divided US

In Australia we had John Safran playing provocateur and spending time with white nationalists in his book, Depends What You Mean By Extremist. In the US, a SXSW documentary takes a similar approach with filmmaker, Adam Bhala Lough embedding himself with some representatives from political extremes in Alt Right: Art of Rage. The film ultimately…

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Actress Margot Robbie to attend Australian premiere of Peter Rabbit

Australian actress Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad, I, Tonya) is set to return to Sydney to attend the Australian premiere of the upcoming film Peter Rabbit. She’ll be joined by director, producer and writer Will Gluck (Easy A, Annie) and Elizabeth Debicki (The Night Manager) who voices Mopsy in the film. The screening will take place on…

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Screen Australia and The Guardian to fund four online documentary short films

The Guardian have announced, in collaboration with Screen Australia, the four projects that have been selected to receive funding from their joint initiative announced in August last year: The Big Wait, Los Rambos, Operations from the Bottom and Where the River Runs Red.  All four films have been created by early career filmmakers, covering both…

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The Sydney Film Festival announces 2018 dates

The Sydney Film Festival returns once again to celebrate its 65th anniversary, taking place from the 6-17 June, 2018. The festival aims to bring the world’s best and newest films to Sydney over a 12 day period complete with premieres, talks, parties, director and actor guests and much more. Over 250 films from all over…

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Create NSW and ABC Arts applications now open for 2019 Documentary Feature Fund

Following the success of The Go-Betweens: Right Here and prior to the the release of the 2018 film Double Happiness: China Love, Create NSW and ABC Arts have put forward application opportunities for its 2019 Feature Fund which is now in its third year. Each project funded through the initiative will receive a world premiere…

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Win a copy of Detectorists Series 3 on DVD starring Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones

The award-winning Detectorists returns for a third series as we follow in the footsteps of Andy (Mackenzie Crook) and Lance (Toby Jones), two friends sharing a devotion to metal detecting. With their eyes on a particular plot of land, they dream of the one find which would bring history to life and change their lives…

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Theatre Review: The Book of Mormon will make you laugh til it hurts even if you feel you shouldn’t (Sydney Lyric Theatre)

What do you get when you combine a much-maligned American religion, Disney-movie songs and the writers of a politically incorrect adult cartoon? A ridiculously so-wrong-it’s-right musical called The Book of Mormon. As close to Broadway as you’re likely to see on the Australian stage, this show is an all-singing, all-dancing, joke-filled tribute to American musical theatre….

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Review: Want to laugh so hard wine comes out your nose? The Miss Behave Gameshow is for you (Sydney Opera House)

Flying candy, endorsement of cheating and a few life lessons – and that’s just in the first 10 minutes – The Miss Behave Gameshow is hands down the most entertaining night out I’ve had in a long time. In fact, stop reading, jump over to the Sydney Opera House website and grab yourself some tickets…

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Exclusive Music Video Premiere: Neon Queen “Free My Mind” (2018)

Vibrant and almost confronting with its colour scheme, the music video for “Free My Mind” from Melbourne’s Neon Queen is as luscious as the song itself. Putting their city on show, the R&B soaked groover of a song takes the viewer to Melbourne and puts the spotlight on an enviable city skyline, inner haunts that look like…

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Muse to team up with NIN and Jet at SXSW to take on The Beatles with Dr Pepper’s Jaded Hearts Club Band

Once again, Rachael Ray will be hosting her annual Feedback party at SXSW, set to take over Stubb’s BBQ on Saturday 17th March from 10am to 4pm. It’s going to be a packed, incredibly diverse line up of big acts throughout the day, including hip hop veterans Salt-n-Pepa, masterful party starter Girl Talk, and the…

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Music Video of the Day: Parkway Drive “Wishing Wells” (2018)

Byron Bay’s resident metal legends Parkway Drive recently released the visuals for their latest single “Wishing Wells” and as you’d expect, the final result is frenzied and goes from 0-100 quite quickly. Just like the song itself, the music video itself simmers in darkness initially, before erupting in intensity. It shies away from the usual out…

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Alice Skye named the recipient of new industry award helmed by Bad Apples and Bakehouse Studios

International Women’s Day saw the Aussie music industry turn out and support the badass ladies currently on their grind. In Melbourne, the One of One International Women’s Day Breakfast saw the debut of a brand new initiative helmed by Bakehouse Studios and Bad Apples. The newly established award has been crafted with the aim of…

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